A new online charter school with a mission to rescue hundreds of underprivileged kids struggling in traditional schools expected to find its niche in low-income Denver neighborhoods.

Yet, the founder of Hope Co-Op Online Learning Academy did not seek permission to open from Denver Public Schools, which she thought would be unfriendly to a charter school application. Rather, Heather O’Mara turned to the tiny Vilas School District some 265 miles away where the Hope president had contacts.

Now some elected and education officials are questioning whether it was legal for Vilas to authorize a string of 81 learning centers across the state – all of them outside its boundary.

“They’re setting up and operating schools within the boundaries of other school districts and they’re not communicating at all with the local school board to do that,” said Lauren Kingsberry, attorney for the Colorado Association of School Boards. “I don’t think it’s authorized in the statutes.”

Hope founders said they set up “centers” in 20 cities. They are careful not to call them schools.

Hope centers don’t have teachers, but “mentors,” some of whom are not certified. Hope’s 20 certified teachers – spread out over the 81 centers and 3,800 students – visit the schools at least once a week to check on students’ progress.

O’Mara said she did not set out to open 40 centers in Denver but that community and faith-based groups seeking to help at-risk kids in Denver gravitated to her program.

“The location of the centers is driven by the needs of the community,” she said.

O’Mara said students and parents have “panicked” since she announced last week she would close at least one center for violating Hope policies that say no public funds can be used for private education. Half of Hope’s centers are housed in churches and religious schools.

O’Mara created a “compliance team” to investigate all 81 centers after The Denver Post reported that hundreds of students were attending private schools using taxpayer dollars.

Definition of “school”

Colorado Board of Education members are awaiting a state audit of online education, due in December, before determining whether to clarify rules regarding charter schools operating outside the boundary of the district that authorized them, said board member Jared Polis.

Hope’s future could hinge on the interpretation of a state law that says a school board cannot operate a “complete educational program” outside district territory, Polis said.

“To rename something that traditionally would be considered a school something different just to circumvent a statute is wrong,” she said. “They are schools.”

Any assertion that Hope cannot operate centers across the state is “totally erroneous,” said state Rep. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs.

State board member Bob Schaffer also believes Hope is on the right track.

“I have a concern that this innovation in education will be constrained by those who have a narrow view of educational bureaucracy,” Schaffer said.

Doing whatever it takes

The 32 Hope students who attend Inner City Christian School Partnership, at East 35th Avenue and Josephine Street in Denver, came out of neighborhood schools that rank among the lowest on state tests.

Half of Hope’s learning centers are housed in Denver, some right across the street from troubled city schools.

“These children need a choice,” principal Richard Achenbach said. “The people who are fighting this are middle-class people who can afford to send their kids to private schools. With the kids here, we do whatever it takes to get an education.”

Hope employs aggressive recruiting strategies. In addition to fliers at Wal-Mart and banners, students are recruited at churches, and advertisements have run on Christian radio.

And students who enroll are encouraged to bring their friends.

Mike Clem, a teacher and adviser for DPS Online High School, said teachers are worried about the growth of Hope’s program. Dozens of Denver children are going to Hope centers, including about 35 former Manual High School students.

“I think they’ve found a community with discontent,” Clem said. “People who are frustrated and angry with DPS, and this is how they’re dealing with the issue. … They are going somewhere else.”

Hope president O’Mara said this was precisely her point seven years ago when she shared her vision to help at-risk students with then-Vilas Superintendent Bill Hines.

O’Mara, a former online education software developer, helped Hines when Vilas set up its first in-house online school several years ago.

Jennifer Brown is an investigative reporter for The Denver Post, where she has worked since 2005. She has written about the child welfare system, mental health, education and politics. She previously worked for The Associated Press, The Tyler Morning Telegraph in Texas, and the Hungry Horse News in Montana.

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